Sweat, a Perry Compton mystery

When Perry Compton gets a call from his old friend Harry McNamara, he thinks it’ll be an excuse to hit the hotspots of Miami and reminisce about old times. But Harry’s now running the “Perfect 10!” gym and his star employee - a redheaded aerobics instructor called Cybill Daniels - has been receiving some nasty phone calls. Then she’s followed home one night, by a man who says he’s going to cut her up, one slice at a time, until no-one will want to see her again.

It’s not as simple as it all appears though and, very soon, Perry is knee-deep in corrupt city officials, lycra-clad lovelies, New York heavies and Cybill, who really wants to get to know him better.

Sweat - a Perry Compton mystery.

Pan Books, May 1984

Cherry, a Perry Compton mystery

When Perry Compton waves his model girlfriend Sue Jerzyk off at the airport, the last thing he expects is to have a case fall into his lap. But it does, when he witnesses an assault in the car park. Stepping in to help, he then takes the intended victim - an attractive blonde - for a drink. As they talk, she reveals that her name is Cherry and she works as a Burlesque dancer. She’s also been receiving death threats, though this is the first time anyone has tried to attack her.

Finding Cherry charmingly naïve as she is sexy, Perry can’t help but get involved and soon finds himself in the middle of a case that features dancers, strippers, bent cops and an Assistant DA who is very keen for Cherry not to spill the beans.


Cherry - a Perry Compton mystery.

Pan Books, September 1982

Dice, a Perry Compton mystery

Perry Compton is enjoying some downtime - his girlfriend, Sue Jerzyk, is in town and she wants to hit the beach. Never wanting to pass up the opportunity to see her without too many clothes on, they find a quiet spot. Quiet, that is, until the woman comes running across the sand, blood pouring from a gash in her head, screaming for help.

In that moment, Perry is a target - hitmen are after a prime witness but the problem is, nobody quite knows who they’re looking for. The girl on the beach was simply the last in a long line of failed hits. And now Perry is in their sights. And so is Sue.


Dice - a Perry Compton mystery.

Pan Books, September 1983

Blue Movie Killer, a Perry Compton mystery

Porn is coming to Miami Beach and Perry Compton gets called in by an old friend when the lead actress is kidnapped. When she is found dead, several days later, tensions runs high. Very soon, another actress is kidnapped and, this time, local stations are issued a stark warning - “Stop the film, or the whores get it”.

Delving deep into the seedy underbelly of Miami and Dade County, Perry Compton is faced with his toughest case yet.


Blue Movie Killer - a Perry Compton mystery

Pan Books, July 1981

Neon Bruise, a Perry Compton mystery

Perry Compton is called in to help out an old friend. Gayle Anderson runs “Neon Nights”, the hottest nightclub on Miami beach. The problem is, some of her customers are winding up dead in the toilets. Everything points to rival nightclub owners, so it’s up to Perry to prove it.

But there’s a new drug in town - Neon Bruise - that strips away every moral impulse of its users. Some take sex to the next level, some take even more drugs, some decide to settle old scores.


Neon Bruise - a Perry Compton mystery

Pan Books, August 1984

(With this book, Raft and Pan parted company. By all accounts, it was a completely amicable agreement, but sales were known to be dropping on the series and Raft was desperately unhappy with the cover art).

Legs - a Perry Compton mystery

Perry Compton agrees to do a friend a favour and look after his beach-front house. Good timing, as it’s being rented out by Si Deed, a photographer who likes to dabble in the sleazy side of life.

Astra Garland is now a model, though she was once one of the sweethearts of American cinema. Drink and drugs have worn away that gloss, but her legs are still worth a fortune and she’s having them photographed by Si Deed.

The first attack on her is foiled by Compton but, a day later, her car is run off the road. It obvious that someone wants to get Astra “Legs” Garland out of the way - it’s up to Perry Compton to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Legs - a Perry Compton mystery

Pan Books, August 1980

Slice -a Perry Compton mystery

In an effort to either widen his reach and stretch his talent (my thoughts) or "pick up more of an audience, I had hungry mouths to feed" (Mr Raft, in an interview), Raft wrote a series of novels featuring private eye Perry Compton. Published through Pan Books in the 70s, going into the early 80s, all of them were set in Miami (where Raft lived at the time).

Perry Compton is down on his luck. Busted out of the police force, he sets up in private practise just as local socialite Hannah Harare is spotted driving erratically. Following her tyre-tracks, the police discover a hit and run victim, covered in knife slashes.

Did Hannah do it? Was the victim trying to blackmail her, since Hannah’s private life was anything but. Or is there something else going on, someone from Hannah’s past, who feels cheated out of the life he should have had and who will stop at nothing to get what he feels is rightly his?

Slice - a Perry Compton mystery

Pan Books, October 1979